


You, Beside Me

by epitome



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-29
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-21 06:10:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11351481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/epitome/pseuds/epitome
Summary: “Have you ever thought about settling down, after all this is over?”





	You, Beside Me

**Author's Note:**

> Set mid-Inquisition, pre-Trespasser.

Usually, when he’s curled around her each night, her dark hair splayed out on the pillow - careful not to leave it where it’d get into his face or tickle the back of her neck - they fall asleep easily, tired from the day’s exploits and the evening’s activities. Tonight, though, something’s off. He can feel the tension in her shoulders as she lays tucked against him, her back to his chest.

“Is something wrong?” He asks her, lips pressing against the back of her head. When she doesn’t answer, his hand snakes to her hip, gently pulling on it to try and turn her to face him. 

“No,” she says sharply, and he freezes, not sure if it’s an answer to his question or an admonishment for his actions. He pulls his hand away immediately, but gets his answer when she sighs and slowly wriggles around to face him. She still doesn’t meet his eyes, however, opting to bury her face against his chest.

“Have you ever…” she pauses, lips closing abruptly, and he can practically hear the gears churning in her head as she fights to give voice to her thoughts.

“You can ask me anything, love,” he says, stroking her hair when she hesitates. She takes a deep breath and exhales it quickly, warm against his bare skin, before relaxing against him.

“Have you ever thought about settling down, after all this is over?”

His eyebrows rise - that had not been what he had expected her to ask. When he’s quiet, a million thoughts running through his mind - _Maker, yes,_ he’d thought about it, wanted nothing more than to retire to a quiet life with her after all this chaos has settled - she must take it as rejection, for she stiffens again and starts to turn away, taking the sheets with her to cover her face. “Nevermind, forget I said anything.” He can hear her voice crack at the end, heavy with unshed tears.

“Keira,” he protests. He leans over her, tugging the cloth from her face as she tries to hide, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Keira, love, don’t cry,” he pauses to lean down to kiss away the tear trailing down her face. 

“Honestly, I’d love nothing more,” he says tenderly, voice full of awe. “I was surprised, I… I thought it might only be me who thought that.” His smile is soft - his heart is warm in his chest. He loves this woman, the commanding but compassionate Inquisitor who does what must be done; the sly but sweet Keira who makes sure he doesn’t skip dinner again and coaxes him to their bed each night. Who shares her vulnerability with him under the cover of night. He does his best to be worthy of her.

A sniffle draws him from his reverie and he cups her face with one hand as her expression shifts into a smile, albeit a watery one, and her arms wrap around his neck to tug him down against her. He does his best not to crush her, but based on how tightly she holds him, she doesn’t mind.

“I was thinking Orlais, maybe Val Chevin,” she says, into his ear, voice still wavering from her earlier tears. And he pulls away, eyebrows furrowing down at her.

“Orlais?! Are you _mad?_ ”

And with that, she’s laughing again, biting her lip in amusement, drying tear tracks forgotten.

He shakes his head at her, but his admonishment has no heat to it. “Andraste preserve me, woman, the things you do to get a rise out of me.” He collapses against her again, nuzzling into the space where her neck meets her shoulder, and she runs her palm down his back and then up again. The repetitive motion is soothing, and he’s not sure if she’s trying to ground him or anchor herself. Perhaps both.

“And yet it always works,” she says.

He lets out a brief chuckle. “It does indeed.”

They settle into silence for a moment before she continues speaking again. “Actually, I… quite like southern Ferelden. The Hinterlands and Southron Hills. Would you… consider there? I know you’ve family nearby.”

He’d honestly thought she’d suggest Ostwick, to be near her own family once more. He knows they are close despite all that’s happened.

“I’d like that.”

He can feel the smile against his forehead as she presses a kiss there in response. He tilts his head up to capture her lips with his own. Maker, a future with this woman he loves - it’s more than he could ask for. He trails his lips back down her neck, grinning like a fool against her skin when her fingers tangle in his hair.

Later, when he falls into slumber, her head cradled on his chest and his arm wrapped around her waist, there are no nightmares to torment him. He dreams of a cozy home in familiar hills, of walking in from the fields to kiss his love hello, while she holds a little one with a head full of curls against her.

In his sleep, Cullen smiles.

**Author's Note:**

> My first foray into fanfiction.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
